Higher education

04 Apr 2011

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Short description of the higher education system

Higher education is provided by universities, specialist colleges and academic research institutes. Vietnam traditionally had monodisciplinary universities, including open universities, technical universities, agricultural universities, medical universities and universities of economics. As a result of several mergers in 1995, a number of small universities combined into larger multidisciplinary universities. Higher education is centrally organized by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), but provincial boards also exercise a major influence on education. 
 

Types of degrees

Bachelor’s programmes usually have a nominal duration of four years and award a University Graduation Certificate. National universities award certificates with different names and layouts from other institutions. After completing a bachelor’s programme, students can take an entrance examination and continue on to do a two-year master’s degree programme. Only students who completed their bachelor’s on a full-time basis are eligible. Master’s programmes consist of coursework, a composition and defence of a final paper. PhD programmes last four years when taken after a bachelor’s programme, and two to three years after a master’s. PhD degrees are awarded by the MOET. Vietnamese higher education is becoming increasingly internationalized, particularly with respect to increasing enrolment of Vietnamese students in foreign study programmes. 

Junior colleges provide three-year professional programmes with a practical focus (short-term higher education) and award the College Graduation Diploma (i.e. associate degree). These programmes focus primarily on medical, administrative and financial professions. The associate degree allows students to apply for bachelor’s programmes, with a possible maximum exemption of one to two years, depending on the institution and programme.

Students with a Certificate of Secondary School Graduation or Diploma of Secondary Vocational Education are eligible for the higher education selection procedures. There are indications that the government plans to abolish university admission examinations in the near future and to allow secondary school certificates to play a deciding role in admission to higher education. Until 1996, there was one national entrance examination for higher education, administered by the MOET. Following decentralization in 1996, institutions can now set their own admissions policy.
 

Quality assurance and accreditation

In November 2007, the MOET adopted the Provisional Higher Education Quality Accreditation regulation. This piece of legislation represents the beginnings of a quality assurance and accreditation system for Vietnamese higher education, based on a three-step process of self-evaluation, external review and evaluation, resulting in a determination of whether the ten established standards have been met. The General Department for Educational Testing and Accreditation (GDETA) of the MOET is responsible for the new system. Two centres of quality assurance have also been instituted at the two national universities: the Centre for Education and Quality Assurance and Research Development (CEQARD) at the Vietnam National University Hanoi and the Center for Educational Testing and Quality Assessment (CETQA) at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh.
 

Recent reforms

Vietnamese higher education is becoming increasingly internationalised, particularly with respect to increasing enrolment of Vietnamese students in foreign study programmes.

To tackle the ongoing brain drain the Vietnamese government is also trying to persuade overseas students to return to Vietnam. The government also tries to use Vietnamese living abroad to support the development of the country.

The Vietnamese government has outlined its plan for higher education in the Higher Education Reform Agenda (HERA). This reform agenda covers the 2006–2020 period. The main themes of HERA are:

  • increasing the financial autonomy and self-reliance of higher education institutions;
  • strengthening governance and accountability of the institutions;
  • increasing the enrolment rate (of both public and private higher education institutions);
  • improving the university teaching staff’s qualifications; 
  • improving the student to staff ratio.

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